A government authority that has oversight over professional behavior of its licensees, maintains records regarding the licensee, such as specific personal information, education, complaints, investigations, and any documented disciplinary actions.

Government Records Search Birth Certificates

Public records have for the most part been filed or recorded by local, state, federal or other government agencies, such as corporate and property records. In the United States, most vital records are maintained state by state. In some of the jurisdictions, vital records can also include records of civil unions or domestic partnerships.

Large numbers of employers choose to search the most common records such as criminal records, driving records, and education verification. One study showed that half of all reference checks executed on prospective employees was different than what the job applicant actually provided and what the source reported.

A state that is fairly responsive to public records requests is New York State, which utilizes the Committee on Open Government to rescue its citizens with their requests. Various private matters such as the full accounts of divorce cases, insurance lawsuits, voter registration (varying from state to state), and almost any other transactions people make with the government or conduct in a courthouse, is included in public records and made available for all of society to call upon.   

Searches into databases such as the sex offender registry, credential verification, skills assessment, reference checks, credit reports and Patriot Act searches have increased since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Some European countries are members of an International Commission on Civil Status, and provides a mutually recognized convention on the coding of entries appearing in civil status documents, with common codes and translation tables between the language of the differing member states.


Most businesses offering access to databases specialize in something particular, yet a few attempt to offer all kinds of available records to professionals in the legal, risk management, corporate, government, law enforcement, accounting and academic areas. Due to the sensitive nature of the information found n consumer reports and certain records, there are a variety of important laws regulating the dissemination and legal use of this information.   

However, the advent of the Information Age and electronic databases has promoted efficient large-scale shuffling and mass-compilation of personal information that some believe has created a "dossier society" - a society in which everyone is subject to perpetual electronic profiles that document and amass everything known about an individual's private life. Vital records are records that include life events kept beneath governmental authority, including birth certificates, marriage licenses, and death certificates.

Government Records Search Birth Certificates

With the invention of the Internet and the Information Age, easy access to public records in the U. S. is proliferating. Results of a background check typically include past employment verification, credit score, and criminal history types of data.